1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for the placing of patch panels, where the patch panels support optical waveguide plug systems, such as couplings and/or plugs and/or optical waveguide cables, preferably within a distribution rack or patch panel cabinet and, in particular, in 19-inch rack technology.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Distribution racks or patch panel cabinets for optical waveguide plugs and optical waveguide couplings are known which are superposed to each other in cuboid-shaped plug-in boxes, in particular in 19-inch rack technology. An assembly chassis is disposed inside the distribution rack or patch panel cabinet, where the distributor boxes are fastened with screws tightly to the assembly chassis. This assembly chassis can be casings, such as it is known, where support sheet metal pieces are screwed to vertically disposed, perforated rails, where the support sheet metal pieces hold the distributor boxes. Conventionally, the distributor boxes exhibit a front sheet metal piece or, respectively, a distributor sheet metal piece. A number of side-by-side disposed recesses are furnished in the front sheet metal piece or, respectively, the distributor sheet metal piece. Plugs or, respectively, couplings are disposed in the recesses. The cables of the connection parts, disposed in the front sheet metal piece, are led away towards the rear. The cables of the plugged-on connection parts are led sideways approximately horizontally toward the side, or the cables of the plugged-in parts are plugged and led directly below the front sheet metal piece through a cable guide also into the interior of the distribution rack or patch panel cabinet.
The conventional assembly of such plug systems in a distribution rack or patch panel cabinet, preferably under use of distributor boxes, has proven to be insufficient, because a plurality of cables has to be placed inside the distribution rack or patch panel cabinet. The trunk cables assume in addition a relatively large volume and are stiff and they cannot have a bending radius which is smaller than a certain limit value. In addition, it can occur that a length of several meters of the trunk cable or of the jumper cable of one connection or of several connections have to be placed within a distribution rack or patch panel cabinet, which creates substantial problems. In addition, extensive manipulations are required for the exchange of a distributor box in order to demount the distributor box from the assembled system in case the plug system has to be changed.
A cabling and installation system or, respectively, a transfer system for plants furnished with optical waveguides is known from the German Patent document DE-U1-9,210,644.7 and the German patent document DE-U1-9,210,645.5. In these references, the connection positions are spatially separated from each other. These known systems comprise a plurality of cabinets or racks receiving individual connection casings. An optical waveguide bundle, combined to a cable, joins into each connection casing inside of the connection casing. The optical waveguides are subdivided inside the connection casing and are connected in a tension-proof way to connection couplings, disposed at a front plate of the connection casing. The supports as well as the connection casings are solidly screwed to the cabinets or racks.